Mattress or the like



` 31, 1943. T. JQ I I'NlalsAczK 2,328,5083

MATTRESS 0R THE LIKE Filed July 2o, 1940 Jf Nga l 1.1111111111111111111111111111,1-

FIG

FIG .6.`

ATv-FORNEY PatentedAug. 31,1943v MATTRESS on THE. LIKE,

Thomas J.` Lineback, St. Louis, 1Mo., assigner of one-fourth toEmil J. Morse, Clayton, Mo.

application July 2o, `1s`v4o',qseria1 No. 346,493

` 2 Claims. (Cl. 5-3'48) My invention relates to a mattress, cushion or similar article and more particularlyfto such` an article of the pneumatic type in which enclosed air supplies the necessary yielding qual-I ity to provide comfort to the users.` Heretofore, many kinds of pneumatic mattresses and cush- `ions have been designed.` `In all `of these, as far l as I am aware, the compression of air in. thel Iarticle has been depended upon to provide the l cushioning effect, `it, being assumed that such `compression Wouldffurnishall the resilience thatA could bedesired. I `have found, however, `that this lnot not the case as` the compression of the air bythe weight of `the person restingv thereon ,increases its pressure to such" an extent that the article becomes uncomfortablyrigd,

The main object of `my invention is to overcome this difllculty by providing auxiliary yielcl`l ing means to compensate for the compression of air inthe article, thus increaslngits resilience.`

While in Figures 1 and 2 I have `conventionall ly shownfthe wallsof the sheath Illas straight, s in practice the walls will bulge asshown in Figi ure 4 when themattressis inilated,` though the i amount of pressure required `isrslight.f This results in an` objectionable rounded edge..` To

overcome this, I cement, or otherwise securefto l the edge a reenforcing strip I6 of some material, "such as rubber, which While not unduly rigid is Another object of my invention isto simplify i andimprove `the details of constructionl of the article.` Q 4 `In `the accompanying` drawingf whichgillust trates my inventionas xappliedto a` mattress, l Figure 1 is a perspective view; Figure 2 isla section taken on` thev line 2`2 of Figure 1; Figure '3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of `Figure 2;

Figure 4 is aview similar to Figureez but showi ing modincations;fFigure 5is a view similar` to "Flgure 3butshowinga different form of compensating means; Figure` 6l is a plan view; of a mattress formed `ofyindependent tubes; and Fig-f urelf is a section taken onthe line 'I-f-1 ofgFig-` ure 6. l

Referring rst to Figures rubberized fabric. This sheath is divided into tubular compartments by means of partitions made of fabric which` wm` allow thefree passage of air between the compartments. The

Y mattress is inated through al valve `I2`.j `A safe#` tyV valve I3 is 'also preferablyprovided tov pre'- vent over-inilation. To` provide auxiliary yieldf ing means to compensate for the` compression of the crair, I provide a tube I4 extendingthrough f one of the compartmentsl This tube isfilled While a singletube I4 may provide the necessary compensation,` for the sake lof symmetryy pre-` fer to use tw'o tubes, one located at each side of the mattress, The tubes maybe rectangular as f shownin Figures 1 and 2 or ovalasj shownv in Figure 4. l l v y 1 i, 2l amis, the nu? `rneral I0 indicates a sheath of air, impervious but non-elastic material, `such,ufor exampleas l may be accomplished either `by across pi`pe`2l! having `nipples 2| ,leadingto the individual sheaths, as shown in Figure 6, or by passages formedbyeyelet-like connectors 22, as shown i inFigure 7. l f

withspringy material I5 such as 'curledhain i mattressea Having fullydescribed` my invention, what I` by Letters `55 l 1 sufficiently stiff to maintain asquareedge. y

In the use of my mattress whenthe air pressure in the sheath is increased by the weight of the occupant of the mattress, the `tubes 'IA are caused to collapseagainst the springy material I5, thus increasing the space within the sheath to compensate for the deflectionr of the `surface y thereof caused by such weight. resilience such as cannot be securedby the air lalone `in the sheath. i Y, j

In Figure 5 Ihave shown a modified form` of Y,

compensating means in' which the tube I 4 `err-r` tending `throught/the: mattress is replaced-byetube I4 which is `closed atbothiends. One end 3 of thisrtube isprovided withan involute portion i I1 between which` and` the'. end of the mattress 3 isk positioned` a coil springY I8; The c'ollapseof this tubeglll is resisted by the air `pressure within it whiclifacts against thetension of4 the spring I8. Ihisfspring thus performs` the same func-A tion as the "springy materiell I5;`

VIn some cases it `may be found desirable instead of forming the mattress of a single sheath to build it up of a" number of smaller sheaths.

Such a construction is shown in Figures 6'and 7J` `'I'he smallsheaths l0 are enclosedy in an envelopeV I9 whichneed not'be air tight.' The com- `pensatingrneans in such amattress may be thejtube I4 withjspr'ingy filling,` as :shown in Figure '7, or the tube I4 and coil spring.` The sheaths III- must inter-communicate so that the Y pressurewill be the same in all of l them;` This I have shownmy devicevas Yforming a complete mattressfor `which purpose it is particularly adaptedwhere lightness is a prime consid-` l eration. It may, however, beused in lieu of the A usual metallic spri g structurein `inner spring claim as newand desire to secure `Patentof the United States is:

This` results 'in i sheath being inelastic and impervious to the ,In rectangular sheathr of flexible material, said passage of air, a pairr of collapsible tubes of .air impervious material extending through said sheath adjacent parallel edges thereof, said tubes being open to the external atmosphere at their ends, ypartitions of air pervious material connecting the upper and lower walls of Vthe sheath between the tubes and ,extending parallel therewith, a filling of air pervious spring material in the tubes, means for nating the sheath, and a relief valve limiting the inflation of the sheath to'a predetermined pressure.l

THOMAS J. LINEBACK. 

